A Ton of Bricks
by Mystifying Fog
Summary: "I yearned for her; I wanted her next to me at that moment, so I could tell her how much I loved her." [Warning: Major Character Death] [One-shot]


I looked down at her as I held her in my arms. She was perfect in every possible way. I gently kissed her forehead. As our eyes met, I said, "I love you."

"I love you too," she replied. We were sitting in bed together, watching television. One of my arms was draped around her shoulders, while the other was around her waist, pulling her into me. She couldn't get too close anymore; her belly was swollen from the pregnancy. Today marked 35 weeks. Just five weeks until we saw our little baby girl.

"My head hurts," she told me.

"You can go to sleep if you want, though I'll probably be awake for a little while longer," I responded. She climbed under the covers, as did I. I brought her in to snuggle. She quickly dozed off as I continued to watch TV for the next half hour.

Just as I was about to go to sleep, I felt her arm twitch. I smirked, thinking she was dreaming. It was only moments before she began fully convulsing. My eyes widened at the sight of my beautiful wife having a seizure right in front of me. I ran as quickly as I could to reach my cell phone, which was in the living room. I managed to slip and fall flat on my face, but got up hurriedly. I didn't know what was going on. I dialed 911 as I ran back into the bedroom.

"Yes, um, my, um, wife is having a seizure, she's 35 weeks pregnant, I need an ambulance."

"We'll get one out right away, sir. Where are you located?" I gave the dispatcher our address as her seizure stopped. She was unconscious, lying helplessly in the bed. I tried to stop myself from crying, but I couldn't help it. Tears poured down my cheeks as I held her limp hand. I didn't want to see her like this. Would the baby be okay? Would she be okay? What was wrong?

Next thing I knew, I was riding in an ambulance next to my wife. The EMTs were trying to diagnose something as I was hyperventilating. I saw them take her blood pressure, and when the result came back, the two EMTs turned to each other, as if they knew exactly what was going on. And they did.

"Ten milligrams of hydralazine stat," one man said. "I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of what? What's going on with my wife?" I blurted.

"She has very high blood pressure. It's extremely likely that she's suffering from eclampsia. We'll need to deliver the baby as soon as we reach the hospital." My eyes welled up. If they had to deliver the baby right away, how serious was this?

"Is she gonna be okay?" I questioned.

"We can't be sure at this point. Eclampsia can be life-threatening for both mother and baby." I sighed, and ran my fingers through my hair. This couldn't be happening.

When we reached the hospital, she was immediately rushed into surgery. They refused to let me back. I sat in a chair in the waiting room. After sitting alone for several minutes, I took out my phone, and dialed Ted.

"Hey," he answered.

"Hi," I replied. My voice sounded very weak.

"You okay?"

"I'm at the hospital. Robin's having the baby. Bu-"

"Really?" he cut me off. "I'll be down there as soon as I can! I'll call Lily and Marshall too!" He hung up before I could explain what was going on. I shrugged it off. The wait seemed to take forever. The room was cold. I was wearing a t-shirt and sweats, since that was the first outfit I could find to throw on. While it was comfortable, I didn't feel right. That was the last thing I cared about at that moment, though. I played around with my wedding band. We'd been married for four years. I still remember the wedding as if it was yesterday. I could recall Robin's vows word-for-word.

_"Barney, I love you, and I think that a little part of me knew that from the day I met you. And no matter what happens, I will love you past the day I die. I have never met a more perfect person than you. I can't imagine where I would be today if Ted hadn't talked to me that one night at MacLaren's. Back then, I hated the idea of marriage. But now, I know that there's only one person in this world that I would ever marry; you. I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. I love you, Barney Stinson, and I always will."_

Those words made me smile every time. I knew that she meant every part of it. I yearned for her; I wanted her next to me at that moment, so I could tell her how much I loved her. As I was staring into space, still thinking about the wedding, a doctor walked out. He stood in front of me, which snapped me out of my trance.

"What's going on? Is she okay? Is the baby okay?" I questioned as I stood up.

"We delivered the baby, she seems to be doing fine so far. We are keeping a very close eye on her for now, and we're prepared to send her up to the NICU if problems occur. However, during the procedure, your wife flatlined. We tried our best to save her. I'm sorry, Mr. Stinson."

Those four words hit me like a ton of bricks.

My wife was dead?

"She's... gone?"

"I'm afraid so."

The doctor left when he saw me stare blankly forward, and sit back down. It was only moments later that Ted, Marshall, and Lily burst through the doors. They were excited until they saw the look on my face.

"Barney, what's wrong?" Lily asked.

"She... she had a seizure, something called eclampsia, they did a C-section, the baby's okay, Robin's gone."

"Gone? You mean, like..." Lily trailed off. I simply nodded. All three of them piled around me, hugging me.

"I'm so, so sorry, Barney," Lily said. Ted and Marshall remained silent, as did I. The hug was only broken by a doctor coming back out.

"Mr. Stinson?" he asked. I turned around to face him. "Do you want to see your daughter?" While I wanted to see her, I was afraid of it. Without thinking, I agreed, and followed the doctor into a room. He took the baby out of the cart, and handed her to me. The room vacated, leaving the baby and me alone.

I looked down at her as I held her in my arms. She was perfect in every possible way. I gently kissed her forehead. As our eyes met, I said, "I love you."

I just wished she could say it back to me.

Through my tears, I smiled. This was my daughter. And I would love her, no matter what.

"Do we have a name for her?" a nurse said, peeking into the door.

"Yeah. Robin Charles Stinson."


End file.
